Holding a handstand on the beam is a necessary skill in USAG levels 4 & 5, XCEL Diamond (if you have a handstand in your routine), and any USAG optional level if you compete a routine with a handstand. Start with step 1 to learn how to learn a handstand on the beam whether you're a self taught gymnast, or on a competitive gymnastics team.

Steps

Part 1

Practicing Your Handstand Balance

1

Learn a handstand on the floor. To get strong enough to do this, do a minute long plank on the wall to build stomach muscle. You have a better chance of learning a handstand on the floor if your body is strong enough to support it's weight in a handstand. Before moving to the next step, make sure you can get all the way up in your handstand. Have someone take a video of you doing a handstand so you can know if it's all the way up.

2

Hold your handstand on the floor. To learn this, hold a handstand for a minute against the wall. Your hands should be about 10 inches from the wall, and your stomach should face the wall. After you can do this, try holding your handstand on the floor. Aim to hold it for one second. Your handstand is a lot easier to hold on the floor after you can do it against the wall. Don't move on until you can hold your handstand for one second.

3

Continue practicing. Practice your handstand until you can hold it for two seconds. You should also learn a half pirouette to learn control. To do a half pirouette, when you're in your handstand, flip one hand so that your fingertips are facing the opposite way that they usually do, and after you do that, pick up the other hand and move it to the opposite side that it was on before. Now you should be facing the other direction in your handstand. Don't move on until you can hold your handstand for two seconds, and do the half pirouette.

4

Hold it even longer. To do this, first go up into a handstand with your hands about six inches away from the wall, with your back facing the wall this time. Kick up into your handstand and don't let your feet touch the wall for a time period of three seconds. Then take the wall away and hold it for three seconds on your own. Don't move on until you can hold your handstand for three seconds, with and without the wall there.

5

Hold it longer, still. Now you need to hold it for four seconds. This shouldn't be that much harder than three seconds. The reason you need to hold it this long on the floor is that it's harder to hold on the beam, so you need to be really good at holding them on the floor to be able to hold them on the beam. Don't move on until you can hold a handstand for four seconds.

Part 2

Doing It on the Beam

1

Try your handstand on the beam. It doesn't matter how it looks; you just need to overcome your fear of doing a handstand on the beam. To help you be good at this, do your handstand with your stomach facing the wall on the beam and hold it for one minute. Try to get most of the way up. Don't move on until you can get most of the way up on your beam handstand.

2

Make your beam handstand look better. To do this, now you'll do a handstand with your back facing the wall on the beam, and hold it for one minute. This will help you with your form. With better form, you'll be closer to a vertical handstand on the beam. Don't move on until you can do a handstand with good form on the beam (it doesn't have to be all the way up).

3

Get your beam handstand all the way up. To help you do this, you'll do a handstand with your stomach facing the wall on the beam, and then you'll walk your hands out until your body looks like an upside down L. Don't move on until you can do a vertical (all the way up) handstand on the beam

4

Practice falling. If you're going to start holding your handstand on the beam, you need a way to get out of it if you start falling. What you want to do is, turn one of your hands to look like you're in the middle of a cartwheel, then fall to your feet. You need to be able to hold your handstand for one second at this point. Don't move on until you can cleanly do the handstand to side handstand falling drill and hold your handstand for one second on the beam.

5

Hold your beam handstand longer. To help you make this easier, first you want to learn a tuck handstand on the beam. Just do a regular handstand and then bend your legs. This will help you with making your handstand straighter. Now you'll want to be able to hold your handstand for two seconds. Don't move on until you can do a tuck handstand on the beam and can hold your beam handstand for two seconds.

Part 3

Perfecting Your Beam Handstand

1

Learn even more handstand control on the beam. Practice straddling your legs in your handstand on the beam. Don't worry, you're strong enough now that you won't split the beam. If you fall, just come down like you would if you fell out of a regular handstand. Also learn how to hold your beam handstand for three seconds now. Don't move on until you can do a straddle handstand on the beam, and can hold your beam handstand for three seconds.

2

Getting more flexible. As you get better, you'll need more flexibility in your legs. Learn your splits, and a split handstand where your legs are as far apart as they can be on the beam. Don't move on until you can do both of these.

3

Get even more flexible. Being flexible in the back also helps you with controlling your handstand. Learn how to to get your knees to your head when you arch your back.

Then try a Mexican handstand on the beam. A Mexican handstand is where you separate your legs (but still keep them straight), and you arch you back as far as you can. Don't move on until you can do this.

4

Making it perfect. Focus on your form when you do your handstand. Learn how to hold it for as long as you like without coming down. Learn this on the floor before the beam.

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Tips

Do pushups daily and work towards sixty in a row. When you can do sixty push-ups in a row, you are amazingly strong, and you can do the prefect beam handstand.

After mastering the regular version, learn your one handed handstand on the floor. After you learn this, you can do you one arm handstand on the beam. Don't move on until you have learned your one arm handstand on the beam.

Warnings

Don't try things if you feel like you're not ready. You should start taking gymnastics and ask your coach if you're ready if you feel uncomfortable doing any of these steps.